When a child humiliates, threatens or assaults another, we condemn the perpetrator, counsel the victim and often put the incident down to discipline or mental health. When bullying persists, we must ask a more uncomfortable question: are we treating the symptoms while refusing to confront the social attitudes and institutional failures that let such behaviour flourish?
Malaysia's bullying figures demand attention. The Ministry of Education recorded 6,528 cases in 2023 and 7,681 in 2024. The number then fell to 2,889 in 2025. Yet Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim reportedly told the Dewan Rakyat on October 6, 2026, that 5,681 school bullying cases had been recorded between January and August 2026.
https://share.google/6xyHw2wozRjUP34Gw. The Star
The latest figure is especially worrying. It is almost double the total for 2025, although the periods are not directly comparable. Differences in how cases are reported, recorded and enforced may also affect the numbers. Even so, the figures call for serious investigation, not another round of awareness campaigns.
Bullying cannot simply be explained as a mental health problem.
Some children struggle with emotional regulation, impulsivity or psychological distress. Others learn aggression from their surroundings, seek acceptance among peers, or deliberately use their physical strength, popularity or social influence to dominate weaker classmates.
A 2021 study published in the International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, involving 4,469 students in Malaysian public secondary schools, looked at individual, peer, family and school factors linked to bullying. The researchers found associations between bullying involvement and psychological distress, among other factors.
However, because the study was cross-sectional, it cannot establish whether psychological distress causes bullying, results from being victimised, or reflects other underlying circumstances.
Indeed, victims may develop anxiety, depression and other psychological difficulties because of their experiences. Not every bully has a mental health condition, just as not everyone experiencing psychological distress becomes aggressive.
To label bullying mainly as a mental health issue risks confusing consequences with causes. Counselling is essential where needed, but it cannot replace discipline, accountability and the cultivation of empathy.
We must also confront a difficult question: can racial and religious superiority contribute to bullying in Malaysia?
Prejudice can certainly become a motive for bullying, although it would be wrong to assume it explains every incident.
A systematic review by Maria Sapouna, Leyla de Amicis and Loris Vezzali, published in Adolescent Research Review in 2023, examined 73 studies on bullying victimisation linked to racial, ethnic, citizenship and religious status. It found that negative stereotypes and discrimination in school and community environments were associated with an increased risk of racist bullying victimisation among minority, immigrant and refugee young people.
This international evidence does not establish how much Malaysian bullying is motivated by racial or religious prejudice. It does, however, justify investigating the possibility rather than dismissing it.
Consider the difference between disliking someone and believing that a person is inherently inferior because of race, religion or background. The latter creates a hierarchy of human worth. Once such a hierarchy is accepted, exclusion, humiliation and discrimination can be rationalised as justified.
Malaysia's multicultural character makes this issue particularly important. If children repeatedly hear adults disparage another ethnic community, ridicule another religion or suggest that particular groups deserve less respect, these attitudes may become normalised.
Religious teachings that emphasise compassion, justice and respect lose their purpose when religious identity becomes an excuse for contempt. Similarly, patriotism becomes hollow when national unity is preached while prejudice is tolerated.
The issue is not whether any particular race or religion produces bullies. It is whether any ideology of superiority teaches people that others deserve less dignity.
Bullying also reflects how society understands power.
Children observe how adults resolve disagreements. When they see powerful individuals humiliating opponents, threatening critics or escaping consequences, they may learn that dominance is more effective than dialogue.
At home, aggression may be reinforced when parents excuse their children's misconduct or blame victims instead of examining the evidence. At school, bullying can become entrenched when complaints are dismissed as ordinary childhood behaviour or intervention is inconsistent.
Peer pressure compounds the problem. Some students join in humiliating classmates to gain popularity or avoid becoming targets themselves. Others stay silent because they fear retaliation.
Over time, the perpetrator gains confidence, the victim becomes isolated, and bystanders learn that silence is safer than intervention. Bullying then becomes a group culture rather than merely a conflict between two individuals.
Social media has intensified these risks. Humiliating videos, abusive messages and threats can follow victims beyond school grounds. Online audiences can reward perpetrators with attention, while the rapid circulation of harmful content makes the victim's humiliation difficult to contain.
Technology does not create cruelty from nothing, but it can magnify existing prejudice and make intimidation easier to repeat.
The institutional response is equally important. Schools must investigate allegations impartially, protect victims and witnesses, and impose proportionate consequences when misconduct is established. Protecting an institution's reputation must never take precedence over student safety. At the same time, allegations must be investigated fairly, respecting the rights of all parties.
Malaysia needs a comprehensive strategy, not a single-issue response.
Schools should provide accessible counselling, teach emotional regulation and conflict resolution, and explicitly address racial and religious harassment. Parents must reinforce empathy and personal responsibility. Students should have confidential reporting channels and safe ways to support victims without exposing themselves to retaliation.
Education authorities should monitor not only reported incidents but also repeat offences, the quality of investigations, protection for victims and students' confidence in seeking help.
The authorities must also distinguish between a rise in recorded cases and a rise in the actual incidence of bullying. Schools that encourage reporting may initially record more cases than those where students are reluctant to speak up. Transparent data and consistent reporting standards are therefore essential.
Most importantly, moral education must move beyond memorising principles. Children need to practise respect for differences and understand that strength carries responsibility, not permission to dominate.
Malaysia frequently speaks of national unity, religious values and good citizenship. These ideals must be tested against everyday conduct.
Can we claim to value compassion while tolerating humiliation? Can we celebrate religious morality while allowing prejudice to flourish? Can we demand good character from children while adults demonstrate that power exempts people from accountability?
Bullying does not necessarily mean society has lost its moral foundations, but persistent bullying should compel us to examine the gap between the values we profess and the behaviour we tolerate.
The fundamental question is whether we are raising a generation that understands power as a responsibility or as a licence to dominate.
Punishing perpetrators without changing the environment that rewards aggression will produce limited results. Providing counselling without confronting prejudice leaves another possible cause untouched. Preaching tolerance without enforcing rules sends contradictory messages.
The true measure of a civilised society is not how it treats the powerful, the popular or the majority, but how consistently it protects those who are vulnerable, different or unable to defend themselves.
Malaysia's response to bullying must begin with that principle. Anything less risks treating the visible symptoms while allowing intolerance, impunity and indifference to take deeper root.
K.T.Maran Social Environmental Animal Activist
K.T. Maran (maran.kt@gmail.com) is a content creator under the Newswav Creator programme, where you get to express yourself, be a citizen journalist, and at the same time monetize your content & reach millions of users on Newswav. Log in to creator.newswav.com and become a Newswav Creator now!
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